Yes.
What resources, financial, staff or otherwise, should the City make available to support these partnerships?
The City should make it easier for qualified community organizations and partners to bring good ideas forward. That can include a clear point of contact at City Hall, streamlined approvals, reasonable fees and insurance requirements, access to existing facilities and public spaces, and assistance navigating permits and available grants.
Where a partnership makes better use of existing City infrastructure, there can be a clear benefit to both the community and the taxpayer. Where financial support or new infrastructure is proposed, we need to understand the full capital and long-term operating costs, the contribution being made by the partner, and the benefit to the community before making a commitment.
The goal should be to remove unnecessary municipal barriers and help strong community-led initiatives succeed, while ensuring public resources are used responsibly.
What specific barrier would you address first and how would that enable more community led activation?
The first barrier I would address is the complexity of navigating City Hall. Community organizations should have a clear, streamlined process and a single point of contact to help them understand what is required, rather than navigating multiple departments, permits and approvals on their own.
Making the process easier to navigate would allow organizations to spend less time dealing with administration and more time delivering programs, events and improvements that benefit the community.